Among the items handed down to my husband was a large amount of postcards collected by his paternal grandmother, Clara Alice Coleman. She was born in Milwaukee on 23 Jan 1896 to Halbert Armine Coleman and Zillah Louise Barney. Her parents divorced in 1907, resulting in a move from Milwaukee to Clear Lake Wisconsin. In 1924, she attended the state Normal School in Superior Wisconsin where she worked to gain her certification for teaching. Clara moved to Carter County Montana in 1916 and began teaching in a one-room school house. Her journal, found and transcribed by her granddaughter, tells of the harsh winter in Montana and her life as a single woman in the farming land of eastern Montana. She met and married Ezekiel Lee Richardson on 12 May 1917 in Belle Fourche, South Dakota. by 1924 they moved to Rosebud Montana where she taught 7th and 8th grade. In late 1930, Clara married Joe Barley who herded sheep on the Barley Ranch. It was during that time that Clara began collecting stamps and used postcards to stay in touch with friends throughout the world. This was the postcard collection received by my husband. As we sorted through the postcards, determining their dates and senders, we discovered an entire collection of holiday cards. This included cards focused on Christmas, New Years, Valentines, St. Patricks, Easter, July 4th, Halloween and Thanksgiving. The majority of them are dated from 1907 to 1930. There are 2 (two) Valentines in the collection written to Mrs H.A. Coleman, one in 1907 and one in 1913. Even though Zillah Louise Barney Coleman divorced Halbert Armine Coleman, she continued to use her married name through her life. Whether Clara sent these to her mother, or just got them from her mother's estate is unknown. But each is beautifully created and a symbol of the love of a valentine. Neither is signed, so it is unknown who sent them to Zillah Louise. I hope you enjoy seeing these as much as I do. 1. Montana, Department of Public Health and Human Services, death certificate, 69-6527 (1969), Clara Alice Barley, Office of Vital Statistics, Helena. 2. State Normal School Postcard, Wisconsin, dated 1924, written to Willis Richardson (her son), Coleman Family Collection, given to Robert Willis Richardson grandson upon father’s death, Privately held by author. 3. Sandy Jomini, transcriber, “Diary of a Young Teacher – 1917: Clara Alice Coleman,” (transcribed in 1985), copy in possession of author. Original in possession of granddaughter, Billings, MT. 4. South Dakota, Butte County, County Judge, dated 12 MAY 1917, marriage certificate, Ezekiel L. Richardson and Clara Alice Coleman; Copy of original certificate in possession of author; Butte County, South Dakota, Record of Marriage, #57885, no date provided, Ezekiel L. Richardson and Clara Alice Coleman, Department of History, Division of Census and Vital Statistics, Belle Fourche. 5. "Montana, County Marriages, 1865-1950," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F3Q2-XWB, accessed 7 December 2014), Joe Barley and Clara A. Richardson, 25 Aug 1930, citing Marriage, Billings, Yellowstone, Montana, county courthouses, Montana. 6. Postcard collection of 200+ cards written and received by Clara Alice Coleman, 1907 to 1940, Coleman Family Collection, privately held by author.
2 Comments
1/7/2022 03:47:45 pm
Hello! I came here to read your genealogy post for this week re: foundations. And I meandered to your other posts, and I loved this one! What a cool and unique collection of postcards!
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Emily Coffman Richardson
1/8/2022 08:26:36 am
Thanks Anna - the notes area always appreciated. I also have similar cards for St. Patricks Day, Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years. Hopefully this year, I'll get to displaying them!
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January 2022
About this BlogThis blog has been designed to serve two purposes. The first is to leave the written histories of my ancestors.
The second purpose is to offer some of my own stories, so that my children and grandchildren can learn more about my direct family and my childhood. Categories |